AVC Online
US Tour
Oklahoma Gaming Expo 2004
Report by Brad Prillwitz
OKGE was great this year. Attendance was up, and the space we had to use was double last years. I forgot to take pictures, but plenty of others did, and they are posted at Atari Age.com We had some new games at OKGE. Beef Drop, for the Atari 5200, Reversi, for the ColecoVision, and Seawolf, for the Atari 2600. I enjoyed Beef Drop quite a bit, as well as Seawolf. But haven't tried Reversi yet. I bought all three as soon as Albert had them ready for sale! About an hour after OKGE started, my Space Invaders competition gained some interest. Everyone went nuts over the mini-cocktail controller adapter that I was giving away. Although, most (maybe all) casual gamers did not realize the SI anniversary was an import,and thought they could just take it home and use it.
I hooked up a Gamecube to a 20" LCD TV, and it was quite an eye catcher. Classic games, and classic updates were playing on the Gamecube. PC Genjin (Bonk's Adventure), Cubic Lode Runner, and the Gameboy Advance multi-cart that I picked up at CGE this year. Almost everyone loved Bonk. Cubic Lode Runner was not very popular. But, the multi-cart (using the Gameboy player hooked up to the bottom of my Gamecube) was a big hit. Everyone loved playing classic NES titles on the Gamecube. And, I took it one more step by using a SNES style controller. One game that I couldn't stop laughing at was "Ronald's Adventures", a Burgertime hack that has you moving Ronald McDonald while being chased by Chicken McNuggets!! On another table, I had three Lynx systems set up, with about 60 games ready to play. But, I forgot to bring extra batteries, power packs, or AC adapters!! One Lynx got about 4 hours of use, before power ran out. Another table of mine had a Jaguar with six carts, and the latest CD releases (Painter, Ocean Depths, Jag Extreme paks). Space War 2000 got quite a few people trying it. Protector SE was also very popular. Battlesphere was fairly popular, but everyone that tryed it, didn't know what the controls did, so had trouble playing it. Several gamers were asking me for Aliens vs Predator, but I forgot it. And, I forgot to bring the AC adapter for the Jag CD! Later in the day, I pulled the Lynx stuff,and hooked up a Dreamcast with some 4-player games. This drew a small crowd. I put an import in the Dreamcast that made everyone ask where I got it, Cosmic Smash. To bad it's only a one player game. One other problem, forgot a TV for my Jag set up, so I bought a cheap TV at a local Wal-Mart. Picture was fine, but very bad sound. Had to turn volume all the way up, and only mono hook up. I took it back for a refund, after the show.
It was great being able to enjoy a local show, probably the same way you enjoy NWCGE. Putting some of your time, money, sweat, and tears into it, makes you appreciate it that much more. Messiah games was there, showing off their wireless NES, and SNES controllers again. I'll buy them, as soon as they are ready. Atariage had a great set up, with plenty of stuff to play, and buy. Reflex got most of my gaming time at their tables. Jeff Cooper had an incredible Pac-Man collection. Anything that had Pac-Man on it , was on his table. I had almost forgot about Pac-Man pasta! The arcade games set up for free play were great. Although the cocktail Galaga, and Joust were never lonely! I'm still seriously thinking about buying one of the arcade games from a dealer in Tulsa.
I forgot to take a look (and feel) at the trakball for the O2 system. Earl had it available to try out this year, and the pictures of it look great. Take a look at his report of OKGE when you get a chance. He even got one picture of me, that looks like I'm trying to but something into the back side of my Vectrex! (I have on a T-shirt that shows Pac-Man giving Ms. Pac-Man the tounge!) Earl's Report
The Vectrex system was popular, but would have been better, if I remembered to bring my multi-cart! Everyone drooled over the Vectorcade controller for the Vectrex! Favorite games were Spike, Tsunami, and Spinnerama. Several people commented that I need to put the Atari driving controller next to a standard Vectrex controller, and velcro them together. They loved the enhanced gameplay of being able to use the driving controller on certain Vectrex games.
Live entertainment at OKGE, from George Alistair "The Fat Man" Sanger. His music was great to hear, while everyone enjoyed a day of gaming. I had dinner with George, and his assistant, after the show. We ate ribs, at the Rib Joint, and had a great time. George kept me laughing so hard, I couldn't sit up straight! After dinner, everyone wanted to play an online game, at a nearby gaming center. They fired up Starcraft, but I only watched for a few minutes, then went to bed.
OKGE also had "Flack", from Atariage, showing off his copying devices, for the SNES, and N64. I only briefly saw them, but wanted to see them in action. Jesse Hardesty organized a fantastic show, that entertained many gamers this year!!
Click Here to visit the Oklahoma Video Game Expo site